


Who nibbles the moon?

by annieoakley1



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, One Shot, single daddy Peeta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-16
Updated: 2014-06-16
Packaged: 2018-02-04 20:47:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1792684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annieoakley1/pseuds/annieoakley1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peeta's new girlfriend and his four-year-old daughter meet for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who nibbles the moon?

**Author's Note:**

> This is an expansion of a drabble I posted on tumblr a few weeks ago. This wasn't beta'd at all so I apologize in advance!

One of the few things Peeta and his ex agreed to was holding off on introducing their daughter to anyone they were dating until things were serious. To her credit, she waited a whole two weeks before bringing around one of the guys she’d been sleeping with for the last year. It annoyed him greatly, but not for the reasons she assumed. Peeta wasn’t threatened, and he certainly wasn’t jealous, but he was committed to doing what was best for his baby girl.

Which is why he hadn’t introduced her to Katniss yet. While things were progressing wonderfully with his new girlfriend, and he was most definitely crazy about her after three months of dating, neither of them were sure if the four-year-old was ready for a new person to enter their lives. 

But as he rushed into the emergency room, his tiny daughter in his arms, still crying in pain, Katniss was the only nurse available to tend to her. Their eyes met over the top of the little girl’s blonde head, and she reassured him with an almost imperceptible nod that everything would be all right. He was still shaken and upset, but Katniss’s presence calmed his frayed nerves.

"Hi, sweetie. My name’s Katniss, and I just want to take a look at your hand, okay? We’re gonna make it feel all better."

She sniffled, but surprisingly offered her hand. Katniss removed the ice pack and Peeta had to look away. Her tiny palm was an angry red, with small blisters already forming on her little fingers. He was still so upset with himself for allowing this to happen. He had only turned away for a moment.

"You’re one tough cookie," Katniss told her as she tended to the injury. "Burns hurt a lot, huh?"

She nodded, her big blue eyes focused on Katniss instead of the pain. “Yeah.”

"I think your daddy here might have cried more than you did," Katniss said as she cleaned the burn. His daughter flinched at first, and Katniss whispered a soft apology, but she was allowed to continue.

Oh, Jesus, was he crying? He rubbed at his eyes just in case, because he’d been a mess since she grabbed the cookie sheet and it wouldn’t even surprise him if her tears triggered his own.

She seemed to be in a better mood as Katniss wrapped her hand in a bandage, and the only time Peeta felt like he was able to breathe normally again was when he saw the smile Katniss was sharing with his daughter as she took care of her. It was hard to believe that Katniss ever doubted her ability to nurse. She had told him on their first date that she sort of fell into it, not sure what else to do with her life. Watching her now with his daughter, he couldn’t imagine her doing anything else.

He wondered what his baby girl was thinking as she laughed now with Katniss. Her mother was never really much of a mother, and while Peeta tried his best to fill that void by being a doting father, he knew it just wasn’t the same.

His daughter giggled again at something Katniss had said too softly for Peeta to hear, and then they shared another conspiring look before both glanced over at him. All he could do was grin stupidly back at them, too relieved that she seemed to feel all better.

"Wanna get pizza for dinner tonight?" he asked her, and she nodded happily. It was her favorite food, and while he normally tried to restrict how much of it she ate, he wasn’t about to deny her anything after her accident today.

"And we can watch  _Frozen_  again,” he added, and she beamed. Hell, maybe they’d stop by the farm on the way home and get her a pony, too. 

Katniss affectionately rubbed the little girl’s unharmed hand. “That sounds like a lot of fun, huh?”

"Would Nurse Katniss like to join us?" Peeta asked, licking his lips nervously as her eyes met his. She stared back at him, dumbfounded. "You get off at three, right?"

"Yeah," she admitted, and he knew she was nervous about it, but that just made him love her more.

"Will you?" a little voice asked sweetly. "Please?"

Katniss looked down at his daughter and smiled. “Sure. If it’s okay with you.”

It most definitely was, and they made plans to meet that evening at the pizzeria down the street from Peeta’s bakery.

As they left the hospital, he squeezed his daughter in his arms and laughed with relief. “You sure did scare me there, kiddo.”

She giggled, her bandaged hand raised, and then stared back at the hospital as he placed her in her car seat. “Katniss is pretty, huh?”

"She’s  _very_  pretty,” he said. “And you know who else is pretty?”

She shook her head, and he dropped a kiss on her forehead. “You!” She only laughed again as she leaned forward to rub her nose against his, and he adored her little eskimo kisses, something they shared since before she was walking. He was just  _so_  glad she was okay.

"Love you, sweetie," he told her before shutting the car door.

"Love you, Daddy."

~*~

His daughter never sat so still in her life, let alone in a restaurant. But today she was on her best behavior, pressed firmly next to Katniss and staring up at her in awe as they looked over the menu together.

"Do you like pepperoni, Reed?" Katniss asked, smiling easily as she looked over at his little girl.

Reed nodded as she tucked herself further into Katniss’s side, her tiny bandaged hand resting gently on the tabletop.

Peeta tried to cover his concern as he watched them interacting together because it was obvious how much his daughter yearned for affection. He had hoped he would be enough for her, but he knew firsthand the importance of a mother’s love and acceptance, and the unflinching heartache felt when that wasn’t reciprocated. He, too, had sought warmth as a small child. A pat on the head from a neighbor, a hug from a teacher…it meant the world to him as a little boy who was starved for love.

If the menu wasn’t blocking Katniss’s lap, he was sure Reed would be sitting there right now. It didn’t matter that they were only officially introduced this afternoon- his daughter seemed to be as head over heels for Katniss as he was.

He didn’t know how this made Katniss feel, though. While she’d been incredible with her earlier in the ER-and seemed perfectly at ease now, smiling fondly at Reed as she recounted their afternoon after the trip to the hospital-Katniss was, admittedly, skittish around children. Hell, from the way she described it, she was skittish around people in general. Peeta sensed that she thought everyone mistook her quietness for coldness. Maybe she even confused those qualities as well, because Katniss had no idea the effect she had on others.

She was strong and beautiful and magnetic, and now his little girl was a goner, too.

"Will you watch  _Frozen_ with me?” his daughter asked her as they ate sundaes for dessert.

He quickly looked down at his bowl, avoiding Katniss's eyes. He didn't want her to see the worry reflecting from his, to feel as if she had to continue the evening with them when this was all happening so fast for her. But he also didn't want her to think that he didn't want her to spend more time with them because there wasn't anything he wanted more.

"Okay," she replied with a tentative smile. "I haven't watched it yet."

"I watch it everyday!" 

"That's not an exaggeration," Peeta said, chuckling. "She watches it _every_ _day_."

Katniss smiled wide and gorgeous as she wrapped her arm around his daughter, and the sight made Peeta's heart race in the best way imaginable. "I can't wait," she said.

He grinned stupidly back at them, so deliriously happy in that moment that he could have floated away on cartoon clouds. "Me either," he told her, and she ducked her head bashfully, but that smile stayed on her face.

~*~

Katniss looked right at home in his home, and Reed didn't waste a second before crawling onto her lap and making herself comfortable, too.

The movie was starting, but it was an afterthought to his little girl, who twirled Katniss's braid and toyed with her locket. There was definitely a part of Peeta that wanted to take her aside and kindly explain that they should play it cool, but Katniss looked so natural and relaxed with her that it didn't seem necessary. Yet.

"It opens up," Katniss explained, taking the charm between her fingers and unclasping it with her nail. “You can put pictures inside.”

“You don’t have any in it.”

Katniss shrugged. “I didn’t have any small enough to fit.”

At that, Reed climbed off her lap and went to her toy box in the corner of the family room. They watched as she pulled out her coloring books and crayons, quickly drawing something with a red Crayola and then carefully ripping it off the corner of the paper.

“Here,” she said, presenting it to Katniss a moment later. Peeta looked over to see that it was a small, lopsided heart.

“Thank you,” Katniss whispered, taking the paper and placing it in her locket. “It’s perfect.”

Reed smiled proudly before reclaiming her spot in Katniss’s lap. They watched the rest of the movie all huddled together on the couch, and Peeta tried not to think about how nice it felt, how easy it could be to get used to this.

“Your braid is just like Elsa’s,” Reed told her as she continued to play with Katniss’s dark hair. “Will you braid mine?”

“I can braid it for you,” Peeta happily reminded her. “Just like the sweet bread, remember?”

She pressed herself closer to Katniss, frowning as she shook her head. “I want _her_ to do it.”

Katniss smiled back at him before parting Reed’s fine blonde hair, and then the two were co-conspirators again, giggling and whispering together as Peeta watched on. He’d never seen either of them look so relaxed with anyone but him.

The film felt longer with his millionth viewing. As the credits rolled, he stood from his seat and stretched, and it was only then that he realized both Katniss and Reed were snuggled together on the couch, both fast asleep.

He studied them for a moment, soaking in the beautiful image before he was forced to disturb it.  “Sweetie,” he said, lightly touching Reed’s shoulder to rouse her. “Let’s go upstairs.”

He scooped her up in his arms, gently jostling Katniss, who blinked rapidly before realizing exactly where she was. She rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn, then she told them that she wanted to put a clean bandage on Reed’s hand before she went to bed for the night. Peeta was sure that would trigger an epic temper tantrum that might be enough to send Katniss running for the hills, but his daughter was surprisingly compliant. Her few tears probably had more to do with tiredness than actual pain.

“All done,” Katniss announced before dropping a soft kiss onto his daughter’s wounded hand. Peeta had to look away at that; the emotional lows and highs of the day, as well his own exhaustion, were catching up with him.

As they made their way to Reed’s room, she asked for Katniss to tuck her in. It hurt, just a little, to not be his little girl’s choice for the nightly ritual, but once she was nestled under the covers, she beckoned him closer as well. He smiled as he knelt at her bedside, and then he ran his large hand over her soft hair, still in the “Elsa” braid.

“Who nibbles the moon?” he asked, and her face broke out into a wide smile.

“Who takes a bite,” she continued. “Out of its roundness, night by night.”

They finished the rhyme together as Katniss watched:

_Till nothing's left_  
 _But a crust-and then_  
 _Who bakes the moon all over again,_  
 _And hangs it up_  
 _All round and bright,_  
 _And ready for someone_  
 _To nibble and bite?_

He pretended to nibble on her cheek as she giggled, and then he kissed her forehead before leading Katniss out of the room.

“Stay here tonight,” he told as soon as they were at the top of the stairs. “You worked all day, you’re tired…just sleep here, okay?”

“Are you sure?” she asked, casting a sidelong glance back at his daughter’s door.

He pulled her closer and kissed her very lightly, which eased some of the worry from her brow. “Absolutely.”

He showed her to his room, which she hadn’t seen yet, and told her to take anything she wanted from his closet or dressers to sleep in. “I’m going to go downstairs to clean up the kitchen. I’ll be up in a little bit.”

“Do you need any help?”

The question took awhile to register because he was so captivated by the sight of her in his room, standing next to his bed. She looked gorgeous with her rumpled blouse and bed-head braid, and sometimes it was hard to believe she was actually _with_ him. How many months had she stopped by his bakery, bright and early every morning to order a cheese bun, before he’d gathered the courage to ask her out? Eight? Ten? And she’d said yes, something that seemed to surprise herself as much as it surprised him.

It was five dates before she invited him back to her apartment, and another two before they slept together. He’d never been with anyone but his ex, and Katniss was just as inexperienced as he was. Peeta was more nervous that night than he had been when he lost his virginity, but sex with Katniss had been better than he ever imagined.

“I got it,” he finally answered. He leaned in then and captured her lips in a passionate kiss, unable to resist her a moment longer. She stilled in surprise before relaxing against him, allowing it to deepen further before he regretfully let go.

“Get some sleep. I’ll be up in a little while.”

He had to kiss her just one more time before leaving to tackle the mess. The kitchen was a wreck, having been untouched since Reed got hurt and he whisked her to the ER. In his haste and worry, he barely remembered to turn off the oven.

Now he was left with mounds of ruined cookie dough and a counter cluttered with ingredients. He sighed before pitching the eggs into the garbage and gathering the dirty mixing bowls to load into the dishwasher.

“Are you sure you don’t want some help?”

He turned to find Katniss standing in the entryway, her hair out of its braid and falling around her shoulders. She was dressed in one of his old flannel shirts that he wore around the house on lazy Sunday afternoons, but she was so petite that it covered most of her thighs. She was regarding him nervously, pushing up the long sleeves of the shirt before steepling her fingertips together and slowly approaching him.

“I can do that for you.” she told him, motioning toward the dishwasher.

He smiled back at her but continued to take care of it himself.  “Thought I told you to get some sleep?”

She shrugged as she came to stand in front of him. “Not tired now.”

It took a lot of restraint to not read into that the way he wanted to. Everything about her drove him crazy. But his daughter was sleeping upstairs, and he didn’t want Katniss to think that he expected something to happen when he asked her to stay.

 _Hoped_ , yes, but he didn’t _expect_ it.

“Reed is wonderful,” she told him, and he felt a blush spreading across his cheeks as he placed a spatula in the utensils basket. Of course he thought his little girl was the most amazing child in the world, and he was thrilled that they seemed to hit it off so well. But he didn’t expect Katniss to fall in love with her instantly to make everything perfect. No, he was determined to keep his head out of the clouds and the pace at Katniss’s speed: steady but slow.

And it was all because there was still a part of him terrified she’d find this to be too much too soon and decide to end it. The worst part was that now his heart wouldn’t be the only one broken if that were to happen.

“She’s not always so…calm,” he said, bunching up a dishtowel in his hands and not meeting Katniss’s eyes. “She might throw a tantrum at some point. I mean, it doesn’t happen a lot but it _does_ happen. And she will scream her head off if she doesn’t get a nap in-”

“Peeta,” she interrupted, grabbing the towel off of him. “I know how kids can be. But I still think she’s wonderful.”

He took her hand in his, forcing himself to relax. “She is.”

“Do you think she liked me?”

He was surprised by how small her voice sounded when she asked that. Her head was down as she waited for his response, and her hand lay limp in his before he started stroking it reassuringly.

“I _know_ she likes you. I never doubted that she would.”

She exhaled softly, and her relieved smile when her eyes met his set his heart racing again. “I’m glad,” she admitted.

“You were worried?”

She didn’t respond, but he knew the answer from the way she ducked her head again. It never even occurred to him that she would be nervous about Reed not liking her, but he should have realized it was a concern. Sometimes he had to remind himself that while he thought Katniss was the most incredible woman he’d ever known, she didn’t see herself in that way.

“You’re great with her,” he said, and she stepped back, her side bumping the corner of the kitchen island.

“Thanks.”

He reached for the cookie sheet next to her, the one that his daughter had burned her hand on earlier. He sighed in disgust with himself, and Katniss ran her hand up and down his back, calming him.

“I can’t believe I let that happen.”

She knew exactly what he was talking about. “It was an accident. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

It was hard not to be, though. He was supposed to be the one always looking out for her, always protecting her. But he stupidly turned his back when there was a scalding hot cookie sheet on the counter. Of course she would grab for it.

“Hey,” Katniss said, her hand clutching at his arm. “You’re an amazing father. _Amazing._   Watching you two together…” She trailed off, but he kept staring at her, waiting expectantly.

Instead of finishing her thought, she repeated, “You’re an amazing father.”

“Now that you’ve met her,” he said with a low and serious voice, “our relationship is going to change. She’ll want to see you again. You’ll be in her life.”

“It’s the next step,” she agreed.

“Are you okay with that?”

She pressed herself closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Does it mean we’ll have to stop seeing other people?”

He pulled back with wide eyes, and she broke out into an adorable, teasing smile. “Kidding. See, I can joke, too.”

“But that was just mean.”

She laughed, and it was one of his favorite sounds in the world. “I’m glad we’re moving forward.” Then she added, with a bit of that old nervousness, “I mean, if you are.”

He shrugged indifferently. “Whatever.”

Before she could playfully pinch his side, he pulled her into his embrace, unable to hide the ecstatic smile as he leaned in to kiss her. Like the too-brief makeout upstairs, this deepened quickly, but now Katniss seemed more willing ( _much_ more willing) almost instantly.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her chest against his as her tongue slipped into his mouth. Her hands were in his hair, grabbing greedily, and despite being otherwise occupied, his lips still curved up into a smile at her enthusiasm.

Discovering this side to the quiet and serious Katniss Everdeen was an incredible surprise. She may have needed a little time to warm up to the idea of physical intimacy, but after a few soft kisses and tentative touches, she became nearly insatiable.

It almost felt more like a waking fantasy than any reality he ever anticipated. The look in her eyes as she reached for his belt, or the way her blunt fingernails scratched at his bare back, or the deep moans she emitted as she rode him…he could hardly believe it was real.

But it was, and now she was as eager as she’d ever been, and he was painfully hard as his hands cupped her bottom and pulled her against him.

He moaned into her mouth as she rocked with him. As the pressure increased, so did the level of noise, and she pulled away from him with a reluctant sigh.

“Will she be able to hear us down here?” she asked with concern.

He considered it seriously then shook his head, and she looked appeased before leaning in to kiss him again. That was another thing about her that drove him crazy- the way she always thought about what was best for Reed. She had nixed the idea of any displays of affection in front of his daughter earlier, which fell right into line with how she acted well before she had even met the little girl. It was Katniss who insisted she not go to his house until after she and Reed were formally introduced, and she stuck to that even when he hadn’t had an ounce of willpower to agree. So their time together was restricted to evenings when Katniss’s younger sister, Prim, was out. And there weren’t any sleepovers, no nights spent with her in his arms as they slept naked under the covers.

Not until now, anyway. He was bound and determined to have that tonight.

“But you’ll have to be quiet when we go upstairs,” he told her as she licked around his earlobe.

She stopped immediately, looking up at him with wary eyes. “Peeta-”

Her plea was cut off when he scooped her up in his arms, and then he was taking the stairs before she had time to process what was happening. “Hey!”

“Shh,” he scolded teasingly. “You’ll wake her up.”

He happily ignored her narrowing eyes as he reached the top of the stairs, rounding the banister to head to his room. But Katniss was no longer as pliable and eager as she had been in the kitchen. Not now that Reed was right down the hall.

Peeta placed her on his bed, reveling in the sight of his dream girl right where he always wanted her most, but she was worrying her lip. “Katniss,” he sighed. “Do you really think I’d do anything to upset her?”

She stared off in the direction of his dresser. “Of course not.”

“Then relax.”

It looked like she was trying to, but her fretful features betrayed her. “Do you really want me to spend the night?”

“More than anything.”

“What are we going to do in the morning?”

“Eat pancakes,” he said with a grin. “And, unfortunately, probably watch _Frozen_ at least one more time. Then, if you want, maybe we can go to the park or children’s museum or some-”

She raised her hand to stop his rambling. “You think that’s okay?”

He took a seat on the edge of the bed and grabbed her foot, gently rubbing the sole and heel in an attempt to relax her again. “Yes,” he stated empathetically. “We’ll explain everything to her in a way to make her understand. I would never do anything to hurt either of you, Katniss. I promise that.”

Though she was trying to fight it, the small smile won out, and his own worries eased even more when he saw it. She pulled her feet out of his lap and shifted to rise on her knees.

“There is one problem though,” she told him lightly as she inched closer to him. He raised a brow as he waited for her to continue, and she began to unbutton his shirt, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated. When she was finished, she pushed the soft cotton off his shoulders and whispered, “You make it _so_ hard to be quiet.”

As she tugged at the hem of his undershirt, about a million images flashed through his mind: Katniss on her knees before him and unzipping his pants, Katniss stretched out on his bed with her legs spread wide, Katniss’s fingers in his hair as he peppered kisses along her inner thighs. _Katniss_. Always Katniss.

He laid her down on her back, covering her completely with his strong body as her hands roamed the hard planes of his chest. “I guess you’re going to have to learn how to control yourself.”

She cocked an eyebrow challengingly as he began unbuttoning her shirt. _His_ shirt, actually. Her bra must have been stacked neatly with her blouse and jeans, because as he opened up the shirt, he was thrilled to find her bare underneath it. He licked his lips in anticipation, already palming one breast as he leaned down to kiss the other.

“Mm,” she mumbled, her eyes falling shut as she tilted her head back. Her chest thrust out further as a result, and he kept his gaze on her as he licked around her nipple before sucking it into his mouth.

She really was trying her best to be quiet, but Peeta knew that the walls were thick and his daughter was a heavy sleeper. There wasn’t really any need to worry, but he loved that she still did.

Fuck, he wanted her. He wanted to taste her again. He wanted her mouth on his cock as she urged him with her eyes to come. He wanted to be inside of her in every position imaginable.

But there would be time for all of that later. Tonight wasn’t going to be the only time she was in his bed like this.

They writhed against each other until neither could stand it anymore, and then he reached into his nightstand drawer for the box of condoms he’d purchased before his fifth date with Katniss. She rubbed him through his pants as he tore open the foil packet, and then she shimmied out of her white underwear while he unzipped and pushed his jeans off his hips. He wasn’t sure if they were rushing because they were consumed by passion or a fear that they’d be interrupted, but it didn’t make it any less enjoyable.

“Get behind me,” Katniss demanded as she rolled over and rose up on her hands and knees.

He squeezed her ass as he aligned himself at her entrance, and then he slowly pushed into her. She was so ready for him, and he was actually thankful they were still using condoms because it was probably what stopped him from coming as soon as he was inside of her.

“Ohhhh,” she cried out, probably louder than she intended.

He was grateful she couldn’t see his smile as he lightly slapped her bottom. “Quiet.”

He felt incredible, and also completely in control. Katniss loved to fuck in this position, and he thrust harder with hard snaps of his hips, silently begging her to come undone around him. She grabbed fistfuls of the comforter, twisting the blanket in her hands as his body pressed her further into the mattress, and he knew by the arch of her body and flush of her skin that she was getting close.

“Yes, yes, yes,” she chanted, her words muffled by a pillow. She was probably desperate to scream his name, a sound he adored when they were alone in her apartment, but here she was forcing herself to stay as silent as possible.

He pulled her hair into a ponytail in his fist, tugging her head back with a gentle force that ripped another cry from deep in her throat. His thrusts were faster and harder, and he felt her tensing around him, her entire body tightening as she raced toward release.

The bed was squeaking now, too, and he reached over her to grab the headboard in an attempt to stop it from rocking against the wall. That changed the angle of his cock inside her, and she stifled a scream as it sent her over the edge.

He moved faster, unable to keep a semblance of a rhythm after feeling her orgasm. Not even the latex separating them could hinder the moment, and it was his turn to try to keep from calling out as he came.

“Oh, _fuck_ , Katniss,” he panted, falling in a heap next to her as his heart raced. She was trying to catch her breath, too, but he didn’t let that stop him from kissing her desperately as soon as he saw her beautiful, glistening face again.

She allowed him to lie with her for a few minutes before she urged him to go clean up, and she laughed lightly at his annoyed expression as she edged him out of the bed. “You look exhausted,” she teased, and he felt it now, too. The events of the day had fully caught up with him. “C’mon, then we can sleep.”

Only the promise of that gave him the energy to dispense of the used condom. As he washed up in the master bath, she redressed in her underwear and his shirt. He started to protest as soon as he saw, but she wouldn’t hear it. “Just…not tonight,” she said as she pulled back the blankets and settled in. “What if there’s a fire?”

He chuckled as he pulled on his boxers and climbed in behind her. “There better not be. Today was crazy enough as it is.”

She turned over to kiss him, and then she relaxed in his arms, her head resting in the crook of his neck. “Get some sleep,” she whispered before placing another kiss against his jaw.

With the girl of his dreams in his arms, and the events of the day far behind him, it took only a few moments to do exactly that.

~*~

The next morning, he woke to the _Frozen_ soundtrack blaring from downstairs. He squinted to see the alarm clock, and was shocked by how late he slept in. He _never_ slept in so late. Or slept so well, for that matter.

Katniss was no longer next to him. He pulled on some pajama pants and a t-shirt, then jogged down the steps, not sure what to expect.

The kitchen, which he left a mess last night as he carried Katniss to his room, was spotless. A stack of pancakes, slightly misshapen but still fluffy and golden, were waiting on the table. And from the living room, he could hear Reed screaming the lyrics to her favorite song, and joining her was a voice so beautiful that Idina Menzel would be jealous.

He watched from the entryway as Katniss and his daughter acted out the scene along with Elsa, and his grin widened as the tiny girl showed her how to do the hand motions to create the ice castle. Then the grin morphed into a look of wonderment as Katniss started singing along again.

After they declared that the cold never bothered them anyway, they spun around on their heels, catching Peeta spying from the opposite end of the room. Reed ran to him excitedly, but Katniss stood rooted in her spot, probably embarrassed by what he saw. He couldn’t take his eyes off her as he hugged his daughter.

“Good morning!” he told Reed as he set her back down. “Having fun with Katniss?”

She nodded enthusiastically, and he kissed her nose before telling her to go upstairs to get dressed for the day. As she ran off happily, he turned his attention back to Katniss, who was busy staring down at her feet.

“You should’ve woken me,” he said as he walked toward her. “ _I_ was supposed to make _you_ breakfast.”

She shrugged. “You looked pretty peaceful. And I figured you could use the beauty rest.”

He laughed as he pulled her into his arms. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He leaned back slightly to look at her. “What did Reed do when she saw you?”

Now she laughed, too, and that made him smile wider. “Nothing, actually. Just said she was happy I was here.”

He nuzzled along her cheek with his nose and then repeated the trail with his lips, and she sagged against him, relaxed now, too.

“So am I.”

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
